October 21, 2018
Lewis Hamilton may have claimed pole position for the United States Grand Prix but he will need to be at his best to defend from Kimi Raikkonen and potentially also Sebastian Vettel.
Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes chief reveals Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel US GP concern
That is the concern of Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.
The Brit starts at the front of the grid after finishing 0.061 seconds faster than Vettel - who will start in fifth due to a penalty - with Raikkonen in second ahead of Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
The Finn will start on the quicker and grippier ultra-soft tyres, compared to the super-softs of Hamilton, Bottas and Vettel in what will undoubtedly pose a huge threat to Hamilton’s hopes of winning a fifth successive Grand Prix in Austin.
Ferrari’s Vettel must finish second if Hamilton does pass the chequered flag first, or else the 2018 championship will go his rival’s way.
Hamilton only needs to outscore the German by eight points to decide their battle although Ferrari have shown strong form while Stateside having been well below in the last three rounds.
And Wolff is concerned that the Ferrari pair’s pace down the straights will be dangerous, with even Vettel himself admitting he was shocked by how “surprisingly close” the Prancing Horse were with Mercedes in qualifying.
Wolff said: “It’s so close between the top three. I’m happy today, but my thinking today always goes to tomorrow.
“We’re lacking a bit of straight-line speed, and it’s going to be very difficult to defend against the Ferraris attacking us - that’s my worry.
Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes chief reveals Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel US GP concern
Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes chief reveals Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel US GP concern
“I’ve always said you cannot write them off. You guys have been saying they have imploded, it doesn’t go like this.
“It has always been very close all season between Ferrari and Mercedes - and it is going to continue until the end of the season.
"It’s about getting the best possible race result and if it doesn’t happen tomorrow for us, then we will try again in Mexico and try and get one step closer."
Hamilton, meanwhile, welcomed the competition as he insisted that he would relish more consistently-thrilling qualifying sessions like that of yesterday’s.
Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes chief reveals Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel US GP concern
“They were obviously very quick," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 after qualifying.
"This weekend, we're pretty much on a par performance-wise.
"As Seb [Vettel] said, they've gone back on some of their potential updates and the car is better in the sweet spot and for us, we've not brought updates here so we're on max downforce level here.
"That's great to see us so close and still I'm hopeful for the future to have more teams, more qualifyings like that, that are closer, but with more cars involved.
“That's got to be the ultimate goal for Formula One."
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Olivia Munn Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Double Mastectomy Procedure | E! News
March 13, 2024
kUaEV1Kd3S0
Travis Kelce Shares Details From His Trip to Singapore With Taylor Swift | E! News
March 13, 2024
3YXi-Dgf4eg
Kate Middleton VIRAL Photo: Agency Addresses Photoshop Claims | E! News
March 13, 2024
S4VkO0TpkCY
Da'Vine Joy Randolph Plays 'Smash or Pass' With Iconic Moments From Her Career
March 13, 2024
vkPdJEF2BX4
Jean Smart Wears a Hotel Bathrobe to Present an Award to Hannah Einbinder l Power of Comedy SxSW
March 12, 2024
Bw7uVEYQev4
Lenny Kravitz Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 12, 2024
MlWq8BcnwhE
Dak Prescott Extortion Plot & Steph Curry for President? | TMZ Sports Full Ep - 3/12/24
March 13, 2024
jHFsrjs7OFY
A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke.
March 13, 2024
YkfJ3Qg8B7c
#KimKardashian and #BiancaCensori hung out at #KanyeWest's listening party Tuesday night!
March 13, 2024
EfwLLq6bx9k
‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond denies using Ozempic to lose 60 pounds
March 13, 2024
Omfjk1AlZ3A
Chrissy Teigen reveals her ‘boob lift scars’ in daring dress at Jay-Z & Beyoncé’s Oscars 2024 party
March 13, 2024
VxZ2qXAlpmU
Zoë Kravitz pokes fun at dad Lenny Kravitz's style during Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
March 13, 2024
j3-lcFu_1sQ
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen
17
Mar
USA: Major League Soccer
Atlanta United - Orlando City
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Aston Villa
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Rayo Vallecano - Real Betis
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Championship
Leeds - Millwall
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Las Palmas - Almeria
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Valencia
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Sevilla - Celta Vigo
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
09
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund
09
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Brentford
09
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Bologna - Inter Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.